The Chicago Cubs are determined to improve the roster ahead of the MLB trade deadline. That much is clear after they pulled the trigger on their second trade on Monday, this time with the Kansas City Royals, less than 24 hours before the August 1 deadline.

Chicago acquired reliever Jose Cuas from the Royals in exchange for outfielder Nelson Velazquez, per Jesse Rodgers of ESPN. The trade came after the Cubs acquired third baseman and infielder Jeimer Candelario from the Washington Nationals in what many deem as a clear win-now move.

While the Cuas trade doesn't seem to be game-changing for the Cubs, it's still beneficial as they look for some bullpen help to address their relief troubles. Chicago got just that in Cuas without sacrificing too much.

Cuas has a career 4.08 ERA on 79.1 innings pitched. This 2023, his ERA is at 4.54 on 49.1 innings pitched–which is roughly around the league average.

The Cubs are currently on a hot streak, winning eight of their last 10 games. They actually won five straight before losing to the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday. They are 53-53 on the season entering Monday's showdown with the Cincinnati Reds.

With that said, they really didn't have to make a ton of changes on their roster. They simply need to address some areas which could present some problems moving forward, and that's exactly what they did.

It remains to be seen if the Cubs will make some more moves heading to the MLB trade deadline. But don't be surprised if they do since they are obviously aiming for a postseason berth.